Kobe Bryant says taking care of parents was “extremely selfish”

LOS ANGELES, July 21 (UPI) — Only Kobe Bryant could pull off writing a second-person letter about himself for the purpose of helping others.

On Wednesday, Bryant wrote a post for the Players’ Tribune titled: “Letter to My Younger Self.”

The letter detailed his advice to his “17-year-old self” and other young players in the league, when it comes to providing financial security for family members.

Bryant’s biggest advice was to “invest” instead of just giving to relatives.

“But the day will come when you realize that as much as you believed you were doing the right thing, you were actually holding them back,” Bryant wrote.

“You will come to understand that you were taking care of them because it made YOU feel good, it made YOU happy to see them smiling and without a care in the world — and that was extremely selfish of you. While you were feeling satisfied with yourself, you were slowly eating away at their own dreams and ambitions. You were adding material things to their lives, but subtracting the most precious gifts of all: independence and growth.”

Instead Bryant suggested using wealth, success, and influence to put those loved ones in the best position “to realize their own dreams and find their true purpose.”

“I’m writing you now so that you can begin this process immediately, and so that you don’t have to deal with the hurt and struggle of weaning them off of the addiction that you facilitated. That addiction only leads to anger, resentment and jealousy from everybody involved, including yourself.”

Bryant then referenced his parents after saying the next time he talks to himself, he might “touch on the challenges of mixing blood with business.” He cautions keeping his parents as parents and not managers. He says to figure out the “right budget for your parents.”

In April, Bryant spoke about his rocky relationship with his parents with ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne.

“Our relationship is [expletive],” Bryant told ESPN. “I say [to them], ‘I’m going to buy you a very nice home, and the response is ‘That’s not good enough’?” Kobe told ESPN. “Then you’re selling my [expletive]?”

Bryant was referencing when his parents auctioned off $500,000 worth of his high school memorabilia.

According to Basketball Reference, Bryant earned more than $328 million in basketball salary alone during his decorated NBA career. According to Forbes, Bryant retired with $680 million in salary and endorsements.

Bryant owns a stake in The Players’ Tribune.